Man who fired shotgun with police nearby gets 4 years

A man accused of firing a shotgun at two Columbus police officers on a South Side street was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison.

John Futty, The Columbus Dispatch

A man accused of firing a shotgun at two Columbus police officers on a South Side street was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison.

Richard G. Ward, 35, pleaded guilty last month to one count of felonious assault and one count of illegally possessing a gun.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard S. Sheward adopted the sentence recommended by the prosecution and defense. The 235 days that Ward has spent in the county jail will be deducted from his sentence.

Police said Ward fired at the officers outside his house in the 900 block of S. Champion Avenue when they arrived on May 16 to investigate a report of a fight. Officer Robert Vass and Sgt. Chantay Boxill fired back, but no one was injured in the exchange of gunfire.

Ward said he was firing the shotgun in the air to break up the fight.

He was not permitted to have a gun because he was convicted of robbery in 2007, court records show.